Greg HawkesThis is my personal website.
http://localhost:4000/
Mon, 31 Oct 2016 00:40:47 +1100Mon, 31 Oct 2016 00:40:47 +1100Jekyll v3.3.0Buying a House<p><a href="../wedding/index.html">Peggy and I</a> bought our home in October 2005, and moved in to it one week before Christmas. Spending our first Christmas together in our new home was an unexpected bonus.</p>
<h3>Selling my flat</h3>
<p>I had lived in my unit in Hawthorn for&nbsp; just over 12 years, and I was very comfortable there. It's in a great area, and very close to all of the amenities of both Hawthorn and Camberwell. Peggy lived with me after we were married, but it was a bit of a squeeze for the two of us. It was definitely time to move on.</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="selling1.jpg"><img border="0" src="selling1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Myself, after <a href="selling1.jpg">selling my flat</a>.
<p>Fortunately, the buyer offered the price I wanted and was willing to settle early. We were able to move in to our new home in time for&nbsp; Christmas.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>Moving Day</h3>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="moving1.jpg"><img border="0" src="moving1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Everyone hates moving house. Now <a href="moving1.jpg">I know why</a>...</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="moving3.jpg"><img border="0" src="moving3s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">It's <a href="moving3.jpg">exhausting</a>!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="moving2.jpg"><img border="0" src="moving2s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">But it was worth it when we <a href="moving2.jpg">started to unpack</a> at our new address.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>New house</h3>
<p>Our house is in the Melbourne suburb of Ashburton, about 15 km from the centre of the city. It's one of Melbourne's older suburbs, with many beautiful but older-style houses in leafy green streets. Considering it's so close to the city it's also very quiet.</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_front1.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_front1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Our house <a href="house_front1.jpg">from the front</a>.&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_front2.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_front2s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Our <a href="house_front2.jpg">front yard</a>, from just outside the fence.
<p>The fence encloses the entire front yard, which makes the house very private.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_front3.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_front3s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The front of the house, seen <a href="house_front3.jpg">from the side</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_side3.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_side3s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The front corner of the house, showing <a href="house_side3.jpg">our patio</a>. We cleaned up the weeds a bit, and have some big plans for a deck here.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_side1.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_side1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Looking down the <a href="house_side1.jpg">side of the house</a>, toward the garage at the rear.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_side2.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_side2s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="house_side2.jpg">side of the house</a> looking towards the front.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="house_rear1.jpg"><img border="0" src="house_rear1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="house_rear1.jpg">rear of the house</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="garage1.jpg"><img border="0" src="garage1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="garage1.jpg">rear of the garage</a>, with our washing line (never had one before) and the door to the bloke's toilet at the rear of the garage.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>New home</h3>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="garden1.jpg"><img border="0" src="garden1s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="garden1.jpg">Our garden</a>!
<p>Neither Peggy nor I have ever had a garden before, so we have had to learn something about gardening to keep it all alive through summer.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="garden2.jpg"><img border="0" src="garden2s.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">We have managed to produce <a href="garden2.jpg">some great flowers</a>, though.
<p>More by good luck than anything, I must admit.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="kitchen.jpg"><img border="0" src="kitchens.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Our <a href="kitchen.jpg">kitchen</a>.
<p>It was lucky that my refrigerator fitted the space in the wall.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="meals_area.jpg"><img border="0" src="meals_areas.jpg" width="133" height="100" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Our <a href="meals_area.jpg">meals area</a>.
<p>This is a great place to sit and contemplate the garden.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
Sun, 18 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +1100http://localhost:4000/house/index.html
http://localhost:4000/house/index.htmlGetting Married<h2>Our wedding</h2>
<p>Peggy and I were married on 23 April, 2005.</p>
<h3>Before the wedding</h3>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="theboys.jpg"><img border="0" src="theboyst.jpg" alt="The Boys before the wedding" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Graham, myself, and Kris.
<p><a href="theboys.jpg">All dressed up</a> before going to the church.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>The ceremony</h3>
<p>I don't have any photos!</p>
<p>Sorry, but I was too busy being <i>in</i> the ceremony to take any photographs of it. I do have some photos from our photographer and from various friends, but I haven't yet scanned the the prints. It's on my to-do list!&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Honeymoon</h3>
<p>We travelled to Thailand for our honeymoon, and flew directly to <a href="http://samui.sawadee.com/">Koh Samui</a>.</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="baansamui1.jpg"><img border="0" src="baansamui1t.jpg" alt="Baan Samui Resort" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">We stayed at the <a href="http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/samui/baansamui/pictures.html">Baan Samui resort</a>. It was slightly more up-market than other places I've stayed on Samui.
<p>This is the <a href="baansamui1.jpg">view from our balcony</a>.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="baansamui2.jpg"><img border="0" src="baansamui2t.jpg" alt="Baan Samui swimming pool" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">We spent most of our time lying around <a href="baansamui2.jpg">the hotel's pool</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="baansamui3.jpg"><img border="0" src="baansamui3t.jpg" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">...like <a href="baansamui3.jpg">this</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="baansamui4.jpg"><img border="0" src="baansamui4t.jpg" alt="Koh Samui beach" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">...or strolling along <a href="baansamui4.jpg">the beach</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="samui2.jpg"><img border="0" src="samui2t.jpg" alt="Dining on Chaweng Beach" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">At night the bars and restaurant set up <a href="samui2.jpg">tables on the sand</a>. It's wonderful to eat with the warn breeze blowing from the ocean, and the moon and stars overhead.&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>From Samui we travelled to Bangkok, where we spent a couple of days around Khoa San Road.</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="kosahnroad.jpg"><img border="0" src="kosahnroadt.jpg" alt="Koh Sahn Road" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">...which had not changed much since I was last there, but it was fun to <a href="kosahnroad.jpg">explore with Peggy</a>.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Finally, we had a few days at the <a href="http://www.montien.com/riverside/">Montien Riverside hotel</a>. We thought we deserved a little luxury for the end of our honeymoom.</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="montien1.jpg"><img border="0" src="montien1t.jpg" alt="The Montien House Lobby" width="112" height="150" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The Montien Riverside Hotel is truly magnificent inside. And this is just <a href="montien1.jpg">the lobby</a>!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="montien2.jpg"><img border="0" src="montien2t.jpg" alt="Peggy and I, in the Montien House" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Of course, we had to indulge our favourite pastime of taking <a href="montien2.jpg">pictures of ourselves</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="patpong1.jpg"><img border="0" src="patpong1t.jpg" alt="Phat Phong Road" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The Montien Riverside Hotel runs a regular bus service to their sister hotel, which happens to be at the end of Phatphong Road.
<p>We visited only <a href="patpong1.jpg">the night market</a> there.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="montien3.jpg"><img border="0" src="montien3t.jpg" alt="Dining at the Montien House" width="150" height="112" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">On the last night of our honeymoon we treated ourselves to <a href="montien3.jpg">a night out</a> in one of the Hotel's restaurants.</td>
</tr>
</table>
Sat, 23 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +1000http://localhost:4000/wedding/index.html
http://localhost:4000/wedding/index.htmlThailand, cambodia, and vietnam<p>I'm back! I just can't keep away from Thailand. This time I arrived to join another trek with <a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/">Intrepid Travel</a>. Their "<a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trip.php?region=Cambodia&amp;code=KSD">Road to Angkor (Eastbound)</a>" trip departs from Bangkok, visits Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.</p>
<p>After the trek I returned to the island of <a href="http://samui.sawadee.com/">Koh Samui</a>. Probably the closest place I've found to heaven on earth.</p>
<h3>Bangkok</h3>
<p>I had a few days to myself before joining the tour, so I spent some time exploring some more of Bangkok.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td align="left">Subject: <b>Good morning from Bangkok<br /></b> Date: <b>7-Feb-2003</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>Well, it didn't take long and I'm back into the swing of Bangkok. I arrived safely on Wednesday night, and even though I was tired I recognise most of the sights, sounds, smells (particularly and especially the smells) of this amazing city.</p>
<p>I am staying at the same hotel that I stayed last time I was here, so I'm familiar with this area. This is the Banglampu district of Bangkok, centred on Khao Sahn Road. KS is surrounded by backpacker hostels, so the nightlife around here is... interesting.</p>
<p>KS has changed in the five years since I was last here, though. It seems to have gone upmarket a little. Gone are may of the older cafes that I remember, and most of them no longer play (pirated) movies on big-screen TVs any more. I think that Thailand has probably cracked down on piracy in the last few years, which is probably fair enough, but it means that I need to look around the surrounding side streets to find a movie.</p>
<p>But the area is still fun, with many of the bars not opening until about midnight. No, I don't know what time they close. At any time of night the streets are filled with hundreds of English tourists, German tourists, completely insane Japanese tourists, and one slightly elderly Australian. I think I'm the only person here without a tattoo, piercing, hair in braids, dreadlocks, or cornrows, or a drug habit. Maybe one day.</p>
<p>I spent yesterday exploring Bangkok's river taxi system. I didn't get time to do this last time I was here, and I've discovered that that touts are just as vicious on the water as on land. They'll tell you that a ticket costs 150 Baht (which you can buy from them), but when you get to the ticket counter it's actually 2 (two!) Baht. As I write, the exchange rate is about 25 Baht to the dollar.</p>
<p>But you can get away with a lot when you're a tourist ("tourist" being recognised world-wide as another word for "idiot"), so I ask the boat's conductor a lot of questions about routes and prices, using my own special brand of linguistics, which is to speak slowly and clearly in English and point at maps a lot. It seems to work. Eventually.</p>
<p>I visited Wat Arun (the Temple of the Dawn) which is a pretty amazing place, and returned to Wat Pho for a second look at the reclining Buddha. Yep, he's still reclining.</p>
<p>I also discovered a place that gives Thai massage lessons. I think I'll give that a go.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="wat_arun.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_wat_arun.jpg" alt="Wat Arun" width="100" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (56 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Looking up the steps towards the top of <a href="wat_arun.jpg">Wat Arun</a>, the Temple of the Dawn.
<p>Unfortunately, you are not allowed to climb to the top. Maybe it's just as well -- the steps are <i>very</i> steep!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="stone_warrior.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_stone_warrior.jpg" alt="Stone warrior" width="99" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (55 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="stone_warrior.jpg">Stone warrior</a> at Wat Arun.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="temple_roof.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_temple_roof.jpg" alt="Temple roof" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (63 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="temple_roof.jpg">Part of the roof</a> of Wat Benchamabophit.
<p>This temple is made of white marble, so it is also known as the Marble Temple.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="fasting_buddha.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_fasting_buddha.jpg" alt="Fasting Buddha" width="101" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (36 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="fasting_buddha.jpg">Fasting Buddha</a> statue at Wat Benchamabophit.
<p>This is very different to the usual chubby depiction of the Buddha. The plaque below the statue reads:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"An image of the Buddha seated cross-legged in the attitude subduing himself by fasting. This image, which shows the (Greek) style of Gandhara sculptures, was cast after a stone original kept in the museum at Lahore, Pakistan."</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
<h3>Cambodia</h3>
<p>We travelled overland from Bangkok to Cambodia, entering Cambodia at the town of Poipet.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td align="left">Subject: <b>Hello from Siem Reap<br /></b> Date: <b>10-Feb-2003</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">(Pronounced SEE-am REE-app)
<p>Well, the last couple of days have been pretty busy. I spent my last day in Thailand just walking from the hotel and seeing where I end up. I think I got horribly lost (as you would with a plan like that), but I hailed a tuk-tuk to take me back to the hotel. It turned out that I had been walking in a circle and was quite close to the hotel, so I was horribly ripped-off by the tuk-tuk driver. Never mind.</p>
<p>Anyway, on Saturday night we had a group meeting of everyone on the Angkor tour. There are ten of us, including a group of four older (like 65-75yo) people from a hiking club in Melbourne.</p>
<p>On Sunday we began the tour proper. We travelled by fairly cramped mini-bus from Bangkok to the Cambodian border. Crossing into Cambodia was an eye-opener: Thailand is a clean, modern society by comparison. The streets of Poipet were unpaved, rough, and very dusty. It was stinking hot, and we had a six-hour drive ahead of us. Fortunately we had a larger air-conditioned bus.</p>
<p>Cambodia has had a pretty horrific history in the last few years. This was bought home on the drive to Siam Reap, where the fields along the road had landmine warnings posted. Trust me, they take "Do not dig" signs <i>very</i> seriously in Cambodia. The road was unpaved and narrow for most of the way, but after six hours bouncing around we arrived at Siem Reap.</p>
<p>Siem Reap is the second largest city in Cambodia (after Phnom Penh). In the last few years the Cambodian government has realised what an amazing tourist attraction they have in Angkor, just a few kilometres up the road. I am fortunate that I have arrived now, because they are throwing up hotels along the main road as fast as they can pile the bricks. A year or so from now the place will be completely given over to tourists. And the world will be a lesser place for it.</p>
<p>For at last I have seen Angkor with my own eyes! Today was our first day at the Angkor complex, and I admit that I completely underestimated its size. The entirety of Angkor covers some 50 km<sup>2</sup>, and there are several hundred temples. Most are quite small, of course, and we won't get to see all of them. Today we visited six (I think -- I lost count) of the larger ones, except the actual Angkor Wat temple itself.</p>
<p>As for the temples themselves... alas, any description I could write would not do them justice. You'll just have to see them for yourself.</p>
<p>So I will simply state the facts: they were all built between the 11th and 13th centuries, as the balance of power shifted between the Khmer, the Chinese, and the Thais. They were built using sandstone (from a quarry 50km away) and volcanic rock (from 120km away). Each new king built his own temple. They are all huge, all completely covered with intricate and detailed carvings, and are now all in various advanced stages of decay. In their days they must have been magnificent beyond words.</p>
<p>It was very hot at the temples, and everyone in the group was very tired by the end of the day. Tonight our tour leader has organised a Khmer-style banquet at a nearby restaurant. I'm looking forward to that.</p>
<p>Tomorrow we visit Angkor Wat in time to watch the sunrise, then spend the rest of the day exploring this the largest of the Angkor temples. I'm looking forward to that even more.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="poipet_street.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_poipet_street.jpg" alt="Poipet street" width="150" height="101" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (35 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="poipet_street.jpg">main road of Poipet</a>, our first glimpse of Cambodia. Very hot, dry, and dusty.
<p>We were besieged by the usual collection of beggars and merchants as soon as we left the customs office. This picture was taken from the safety of the bus.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="cambodia_country.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_cambodia_country.jpg" alt="Cambodia countryside" width="150" height="99" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (21 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Driving through the <a href="cambodia_country.jpg">Cambodian countryside</a>.
<p>The sign is a landmine warning.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="siemreap_street.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_siemreap_street.jpg" alt="Siem Reap" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (19 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="siemreap_street.jpg">street outside the hotel</a> at Siem Reap.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_south_gate.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_south_gate.jpg" alt="Angkor south gate" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (48 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Looking along the causeway toward the <a href="angkor_south_gate.jpg">south gate</a> of Angkor Thom.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_gods.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_gods.jpg" alt="Angkor gods" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (62 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The causeway is lined with <a href="angkor_gods.jpg">Gods like these</a> one one side...</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_demon.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_demon.jpg" alt="Angkor demon" width="101" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (57 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">...and <a href="angkor_demon.jpg">Demons like this one</a> on the other.
<p>This is a recurring theme in Khmer art: the Gods and Demons opposite each other, representing the battle between good and evil.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_bayon.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_bayon.jpg" alt="The Bayon" width="150" height="97" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (29 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="angkor_bayon.jpg">The Bayon</a>, the first of the Angkor temples that we visited.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_reliefs.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_reliefs.jpg" alt="Bas reliefs" width="101" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (75 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="angkor_reliefs.jpg">Bas relief carvings</a> on the walls of the Bayon.
<p>The entire temple is covered with these detailed carvings. Each panel depicts a story of event in Khmer history. Much too many for me to remember all the details!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_face.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_face.jpg" alt="Angkor face" width="99" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (69 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="angkor_face.jpg">enigmatically smiling face</a> of Angkor.
<p>This face appears on almost every tower on the Angkor temples. All four sides of each tower have a face like this, aimed in each of the cardinal directions.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_phimeanakas.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_phimeanakas.jpg" alt="Phimeanakas" width="150" height="99" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (61 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="angkor_phimeanakas.jpg">Phimeanakas</a>, or Royal, temple.
<p>Here the king came to perform his devotions.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_jungle.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_jungle.jpg" alt="Jungle temple" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (72 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="angkor_jungle.jpg">jungle temple</a>, overgrown with the roots of a banyan tree.
<p>This is why restoration of the temples is so difficult: the vegetation is destroying the temples, but if it was removed the buildings would collapse.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_jungle2.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_jungle2.jpg" alt="Overgrown buildings" width="100" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (66 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="angkor_jungle2.jpg">More overgrown buildings</a> at the jungle temple.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_sunrise.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_sunrise.jpg" alt="Angkor sunrise" width="150" height="59" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (25 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="angkor_sunrise.jpg">Sunrise over Angkor Wat</a>.
<p>This is what I came to see. Was it worth it? Oh, yes!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_apsara.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_apsara.jpg" alt="Apsara" width="100" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (64 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="angkor_apsara.jpg">Apsara (celestial nymph) figure</a> on the wall of Angkor Wat.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="angkor_wat1.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_angkor_wat1.jpg" alt="Central tower" width="99" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (60 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Myself, at the foot of the central tower at the <a href="angkor_wat1.jpg">top of Angkor Wat</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="bantay_srei.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_bantay_srei.jpg" alt="Bantay Srei" width="100" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (75KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Intricate carvings like these cover the entire surface of <a href="bantay_srei.jpg">Bantay Srei Temple</a>, a few kilometres away from Angkor Wat.
<p>Because only women were allowed to enter, Bantay Srei is also known as the "Citadel of the Women".</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>After leaving Siem Reap we flew to Phnom Penh, on an very dodgy aeroplane. The cabin started to fill with thick white mist before we even left the ground! For a minute we were a bit worried, but it was just condensation from the air conditioning.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td align="left">Subject: <b>Hello from Phnom Penh<br /></b> Date: <b>13-Feb-2003</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">
<p>Another very interesting, though slightly overwhelming, day... We visited S-21 (the Khmer Rouge's secret jail and torture centre), and one of the killing fields at Cheong Ek. There were several thousand bodies in mass graves here, and there are several hundred such killing fields around Cambodia. That's why our guide told us that Cambodia <i>is</i> the killing field.</p>
<p>S-21 is pretty scary. The things that the Khmer Rouge did to their victims there was just horrific. Once you had been accused of a crime against the Khmer Rouge (where "crime" means "anything we don't like") you were pretty much dead. So was your family, who were also tortured until they confessed your crimes. Some of the torture implements were on display at S-21. There were just seven survivors (of the 14,000 that passed through S-21) still alive when the Vietnamese arrived to liberate Phnom Penh. The Khmer were busily killing people at S-21 up until the Vietnamese arrived.</p>
<p>After victims had confessed they were told they were being relocated to another prison: in fact, it was the killing ground at Cheong Ek. They were marched, blindfolded, hands bound, and feet manacled, to kneel at the edge of a big hole. Then they were clubbed or stabbed with a bamboo stick. They fell into the hole and were buried dead or alive. There were about one hundred mass graves at Cheong Ek.</p>
<p>The killing grounds are being excavated, and most of the bodies (skeletons) have been removed. In the centre of Cheong Ek is a pagoda. Unlike every other pagoda I've seen around SEAsia, this one contains shelf upon shelf of skulls. Each skull is damaged: pierced by clubs, bayonets, or bullet holes.</p>
<p>And do you know what I found was the most ghastly thing? The grounds of the killing field are mostly grassy, except for the paths, but the grass is scattered with bits of clothing. They weren't thrown there: they just keep being washed up by the rains.</p>
<p>May their owners rest in peace.</p>
<p>And just to fill out the afternoon, we visited a shooting range, where for US$20 I shot off a 30-round clip on a Russian AK-47 assault rifle. This was definitely not recommended by the Intrepid guide... but we understood that if we tried it, it would be quite an experience. And it was; those things are <i>loud</i>. But I managed to hit the target. Even in full-automatic mode, at about five rounds per second. I recommend this to anyone who wants to try their hand at an AK-47, M-16, Colt-45, heavy machine gun, "Rambo" gun (that's what the range master called it -- watch the movie), hand grenade, or rocket launcher. Yes, rocket launcher. All yours for only US$200 a shot.</p>
<p>Now tonight the wife of today's tour guide has prepared a traditional dinner for us, so I had better go. Until next time...</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="toul_sleng.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_toul_sleng.jpg" alt="Interrogation room" width="150" height="101" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (42 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Interrogation room at the <a href="toul_sleng.jpg">Khmer Rouge torture centre</a>, S-21.
<p>That steel bar in the foreground is a set of leg irons. They weigh about five kilograms, and prisoners were <i>never</i> allowed to remove them.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="cheong_ek.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_cheong_ek.jpg" alt="Pagoda at Cheong Ek" width="100" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (47 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Pagoda at the <a href="cheong_ek.jpg">Cheong Ek killing fields</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="firing_range.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_firing_range.jpg" alt="Firing an AK-47" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (34 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Myself, doing something dangerous (and very loud) with an <a href="firing_range.jpg">AK-47 assault rifle</a> at a firing range outside Phnom Penh.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="phnom_penh.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_phnom_penh.jpg" alt="Phnom Penh" width="150" height="99" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (54 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="phnom_penh.jpg">Phnom Penh</a> street corner.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>Vietnam</h3>
<p>We continued our tour overland into Vietnam.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td align="left">Subject: <b>Good morning from Saigon<br /></b> Date: <b>17-Feb-2003</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Well, the tour ended on Saturday, and right now I'm a bit toured-out. It will be good to get to Koh Samui, where I can stay in one place and not think about much for a while. It's been a strange last couple of days -- I've known the people in the group for only a week, but travelling is such an intense experience that as people leave one by one I feel that a part of me is going, too.
<p>It's amazing how much contrast there is at the borders between countries. I normally enter a new country by its international airport, and all airports look the same. Crossing a land border is a different story. Cambodia's border offices consists of a row of huts. Only one had a guard in it, so our tour guide made us hustle to get into the queue before another two loads of buses behind us. Even then it took about 40 minutes to get the 11 people in our group out of Cambodia. A few Cambodians tried to jump the queue, with a few thousand Riel tucked into their passports, but our group turned our backs and with a few subtle hip-and-elbow moves managed to shove some of them behind us. They didn't like that.</p>
<p>Then we walked across the hundred or so metres of no-man's land to the Vietnamese side. The Vietnamese border building is a real cold-war relic: blocky, ugly, and topped with a huge red and gold Communist insignia. Again, our tour guide shoved all of our passports at the (lone) customs officer before anyone else could get in front of our group. She also advised us to have "nothing to declare"; apparently if you declare anything they go through all of your baggage with a fine-tooth comb. That's what experience does for you. At least the building had wall fans around the queue area.</p>
<p>Once in Vietnam we found our Vietnamese guide, who said we could call him "Mick Dundee", because his Vietnamese name sounded vaguely like that and he was given that name by a previous Australian tourist. Actually I think he just liked the name.</p>
<p>As usual it was stonkin' hot, and we were all pretty tired from standing around in the heat, so there wasn't much conversation on the bus as we travelled into Vietnam. More on road travel in Vietnam later. But as usual the Intrepid hotel was nice.</p>
<p>We visited the Black Lady mountain temple (and almost suffocated in the incense smoke), and later that evening attended a service at the Cao Dai temple. That was pretty amazing: the chanting starts to get to you after a while, and the temple is more ornately decorated than many other temples in SEAsia (and that's saying something!).</p>
<p>Then we went for dinner. Now, fortunately, I had a slight stomach upset so I didn't eat much, and I certainly avoided the snake wine when it came around. Yep, snake wine. Take something alcoholic (eg: some home made rice wine), add one whole snake to the jar, and bury it for about two years. Exhume and drink.</p>
<p>On Saturday we visited the tunnels at Cu Chi. This was really interesting; these tunnels were dug over the 40-odd years before the Vietnam war, and were used by the Viet Cong to outflank and confound the South/US/allied armies. They're a bit of a squeeze for a westerner to get into, and must have been even more cramped during the war. But they did the job. At their height the tunnel complex stretched over 250 km! We also saw various booby traps that the VC placed through the jungle. Nasty.</p>
<p>The Cu Chi complex has a video that shows how the plucky and resourceful VC outwitted the stupid and lumbering Americans (always Americans -- I don't think they know that anyone else was in the war). One woman (I assume she was American) behind our group stood up and left, muttering "I don't have to listen to this", which struck me as pretty stupid. Did she really think that Americans have the only point of view worth listening to?</p>
<p>Perhaps George Dubya Bush should spend some time here.</p>
<p>The tour officially ended when we reached the hotel in Saigon. There were no tour functions organised in Saigon, but on Saturday evening we had a final group dinner at which I tried my first scorpion (I only had a claw -- tastes like eating an eggshell), and finished the evening at the bar next door. That was fun. Our tour leader says that she has never been so drunk with a group before, so we all assume that was a compliment. BTW, six or seven pots of Tiger Beer is bad, mmmkay?</p>
<p>Or maybe it was the Vodka shots...</p>
<p>So here I am winding down in Saigon. A couple of people have gone: some have headed home (and are probably at work today); some have continued travelling; some have joined another Intrepid tour. And tonight I fly to Bangkok. This time tomorrow I should be on a beach on Koh Samui.</p>
<p>Before I go, a word on driving in Vietnam. It helps to realise that everyone on Vietnamese roads is a visually-handicapped psychopath with a death wish. Outside the cities people overtake in front of oncoming traffic at something over 100 kph. At least twice our bus driver had to swerve quickly to avoid a high-speed, head-on collision -- not easy when the sides of the roads are taken up with pedestrians, pushcarts, motorcycles, and the occasional cow. In Saigon it's just insane; people (most are on motorbikes) basically ignore a red light until the group of people crossing in front of them is too heavy to ride through. It's an experience just to stand on a street corner and watch the traffic.</p>
<p>As a pedestrian, you cross a road by waiting for the traffic to thin a bit, then walking at a steady pace across the road while motorbikes, cars, and pushbikes whiz all around you. Just remember, they're not actually <i>trying</i> to kill you... As with many other things in Asia, the best advice is to not think about it.</p>
<p>Now, I want to do some shopping. Prices here are ridiculously low, but the quality seems quite good. I suspect these are <i>genuine</i> articles, and we're buying directly from the sweatshops in which they are made. I've seen a AU$300 backpack here for US$22.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="mtn_temple.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_mtn_temple.jpg" alt="Black Lady Mountain temple" width="150" height="99" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (64 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="mtn_temple.jpg">Black Lady Mountain Temple</a>.
<p>That's incense smoke coming from the upper level. The air inside was almost unbreathable!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="cao_dai.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_cao_dai.jpg" alt="Cao Dai temple" width="101" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (69 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Ornate interior of the <a href="cao_dai.jpg">Cao Dai Temple</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="cu_chi.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_cu_chi.jpg" alt="Cu Chi tunnels" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (68 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">One of the entrances to the <a href="cu_chi.jpg">tunnel complex at Cu Chi</a>, just outside Ho Chi Minh City. No wonder the Viet Cong gave the allies such a hard time with these tunnels. When the trapdoor is closed it is all but invisible. They're almost too small for a Westerner to enter, even without full combat gear.
<p>Hi, Gary!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="everyone.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_everyone.jpg" alt="Everyone!" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (42 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">
<p>At a <a href="everyone.jpg">Ho Chi Minh restaurant</a> to mark the end of the tour.</p>
<p>Clockwise from left: Glen, Marge, David, Eva, Amanda, Darren, Gary, Amy (our leader!), Merrell, and Noel.</p>
<p>Hi, everyone! Thank you for a great trip!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="war_museum1.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_war_museum1.jpg" alt="Historic aircraft" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (55 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Some aircraft at the <a href="war_museum1.jpg">War Remnants Museum</a> in Ho Chi Minh City.
<p>I wonder why the Allies left this stuff behind? They must have left in a hurry!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="war_museum2.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_war_museum2.jpg" alt="Deformed babies" width="150" height="99" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (27 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="war_museum2.jpg">Babies deformed</a> by exposure to defoliants, on display at the War Remnants Museum.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="ho_chi_minh1.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_ho_chi_minh1.jpg" alt="Tall narrow hotel" width="101" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (33 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">A <a href="ho_chi_minh1.jpg">tall, narrow, hotel</a> in Ho Chi Minh City.
<p>The street frontages of all these shops is pretty small. So, if you need space, you have to go upwards!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="ho_chi_minh2.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_ho_chi_minh2.jpg" alt="Ho Chi Minh street" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (55 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="ho_chi_minh2.jpg">Ho Chi Minh City</a> streetscape.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>Koh Samui</h3>
<p>After the trek I left Vietnam and went back to Thailand, where I returned to the resort island of <a href="http://samui.sawadee.com/" target="_top">Koh Samui</a> in the Gulf of Thailand. I stayed at <a href="http://www.sawadee.com/samui/montien/details/" target="_top">Montien House</a> on Chaweng Beach, the same hotel where I stayed five years ago. It's in a great location near the shops, cafes, and bars of the shopping area.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td align="left">Subject: <b>Hello from Koh Samui<br /></b> Date: <b>23-Feb-2003</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>For the last few days I've been relaxing in Koh Samui. Motivation has become a bit of an issue, so please forgive the lateness of this e-mail.</p>
<p>Samui has changed in fairly predictable ways since I was here five years ago -- unfortunately. The main road has now been paved and there are reasonably good footpaths all the way through the main shopping strip (and you know you're an experienced Asia traveller when you notice that sort of thing). There's now a McDonald's and a Burger King, and Hagen-Daaz and other upmarket ice-cream stores have outlets here. The Internet cafes compete with each other to advertise that they have the fastest connections. In other words, Samui has now been civilised.</p>
<p>But the biggest change that I noticed is that the nightclubs now close at 2:00am! WTF?! Last time I was here I was assaulted by a Thai prostitute (she threw a stick at me) while staggering home at 5:00am after giving her the brush-off. I cannot understand this (the curfew, not the prostitute); is it some misguided reaction to the bombing in Bali, or some sign of moral rectitude among the powers that be? In any case, it took about one day to find the "after parties" that continue from 2:00am, so that was all right.</p>
<p>Now I've settled into the usual Samui routine: sleep until 10:00am; beach until 3:00pm; massage until 4:00pm; pool until 6:00pm; dinner until 9:00pm; nightclub until loss of consciousness. Repeat until bank accounts exhausted.</p>
<p>One thing I have noticed is that the 2:00am closure seems to have eliminated all the characters that used to hang around the nightclubs with their Thai girlfriends until all hours of the morning. These were usually expat Poms or the occasional Aussie, usually in their late 40's-50's, inviting me to discuss their lifestyle choices in front of the girlfriend because "she can't understand English well enough to follow the conversation". Who said chivalry was dead!</p>
<p>I wonder what happened to those guys?</p>
<p>I admit that I have mixed feelings about the development of Samui: on the one hand, it's great to be at a resort where you can get things and do things, where the shops are stocked and open until late; on the other hand, I feel it's kind of a shame that everywhere is going to end up being thoroughly westernised. But for the moment I want to relax, so the fewer hassles the better.</p>
<p>One of the problems that I encountered last time I was here was the lack of bookstores. Once my reading material was exhausted I was scouring tiny shops looking for anything that was less than five years old and written in English. That problem has gone away; now there are a couple of large-ish shops that have a wide variety of both new and second-hand books, in various languages. I bought a couple of books describing the expat experience in Asia -- about 400 anecdotes from various people working and living around SEAsia. Very funny reading, particularly when you're in the area and can relate to exactly these experiences.</p>
<p>So my time here on Samui has settled into a fairly predictable routine, but that's okay; sometimes you get tired of making decisions. I assume that life here is pretty much like any other resort, so I won't describe it here. I will make one observation though: the English tourists I've encountered (likely lads from London, usually) are so pale! Compared to everyone else around here they look as though they'd glow in the dark.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="montien1.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_montien1.jpg" alt="Lion fountains" width="150" height="99" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (46 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="montien1.jpg">Lion fountains</a> beside the pool at Montien House, Koh Samui.
<p>Now look more closely -- how many water jets are spraying from each lion?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="montien2.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_montien2.jpg" alt="Samui beach" width="150" height="101" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (49 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="montien2.jpg">The beach</a> in front of Montien House.
<p>In fact, I didn't spend much time lying on the beach -- I was too comfortable lying around the pool.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="montien3.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_montien3.jpg" alt="Massage pavilion" width="150" height="100" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (44 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="montien3.jpg">massage pavilion</a>, Montien House.
<p>Oh, this was gooood...</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="samui1.jpg"><img border="0" src="t_samui1.jpg" alt="Buddha shrine" width="100" height="150" /><br />
<small>Full-size picture (67 KB)</small></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">My final photograph of Koh Samui: dusk falls over the <a href="samui1.jpg">Buddha shrine</a> at Samui's airport.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3>Melbourne</h3>
<p>Home again. I sent this e-mail about a week after I arrived.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td align="left">Subject: <b>Hello from Melbourne<br /></b> Date: <b>6-Mar-2003</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">
<p>Well, I'm home... I flew into Melbourne on Thursday afternoon. I didn't sleep much on the plane and I stayed awake until late to kick my body clock around to Melbourne time, so when I did go to sleep I slept for 13 hours. I was still having trouble sleeping for the next few days, though. I wasn't falling asleep until 2:00-3:00am, so I think that my body was stubbornly clinging to Thai time. But I think it's getting better.</p>
<p>I know that I should be glad to be home, but I'd really rather be on a beach in Thailand. I think I've gone off the whole 9-to-5 thing. Unfortunately I'm not yet independently wealthy, so it's back to work I go...</p>
<p>I have developed my photos and have spent the last couple of nights arranging them into an album. Now that that's done I will be looking to corner anyone who stands still for too long, to tell them all about my travels. So watch it.</p>
<p>For the last few days I've been trying to compose this e-mail. Motivation is still a problem, but I decided I really should do it when some of my friends were surprised to discover that I was back in the country!</p>
<p>This e-mail will be the last that I send for my holiday. So, by way of a summary, I wanted to share a few memories that didn't make it into previous e-mails.</p>
<p>I had a terrific time, saw some pretty amazing sights, and generally enjoyed myself thoroughly. I always enjoy Thailand: I love being in Bangkok, and Samui is pretty close to heaven on earth. But I think that I had the most fun in Cambodia. Cambodia was the least developed of the places I visited and also the most interesting.</p>
<p>I always wanted to see Angkor, of course. The Angkor Wat temple is the largest religious structure in the world. That they were built so long ago -- nearly 1,000 years -- and then <i>lost</i> in the jungle blows me away every time that I think of it. How could a civilisation rise to the point where it can spend 200 years, and about a million slaves, building these temples, and then disappear and "forget" that they existed?</p>
<p>While in Phnom Penh we dropped in briefly at the Heart of Darkness. This is a PP icon, and probably the coolest bar/nightclub I have ever seen -- maybe because it's the only bar I've been where the security guards pat you down for weapons at the entrance. This was the night after we went to the firing range, so the memories of AK-47 fire were still fresh and added a certain frisson to the evening. We didn't stay late so the place wasn't really jumping by the time we left, but I can still see the dim red lighting and hear the music even now.</p>
<p>BTW, "Heart of Darkness" would be a great name for a book that could be turned into a cult movie.</p>
<p>The other fun place was the Foreign Correspondents Club, on the riverfront facing the Ton Le Sap river. Another PP icon, this is three stories tall with a decent pool table, and open-air dining on the roof. A very pleasant way to unwind after the heat of the day. On the way to the FCC, we had dinner at the local "Happy Pizza" restaurant. The pizzas range from pleasantly genial to wildly ecstatic, depending on the amount of "herbs" they include...</p>
<p>Maybe Cambodia sticks in my mind because it makes you realise just what a living nightmare the country had to endure for so long. There are so many people missing limbs, and so few old people -- 50% of the population of Cambodia is under 15yo. Every single family was touched by the Khmer Rouge, sometimes losing half of their members. Families broke up, and children were told to say that they were orphans to prevent the KR from killing them when they killed their parents. You have to wonder how that kind of insanity can take hold in a country.</p>
<p>And, as usual, I return to Australia deeply aware that we have never had to endure anything remotely like it -- and probably never will.</p>
<p>There are many beggars in SEAsia, of course, and there seems to be more than average in Cambodia. After a while they fade into the background. You get so used to brushing them off that you almost stop noticing them. At the killing field we were followed by groups of kids hassling us for money. As usual I ignore them, trying not to feel like an indifferent bastard. I think I was succeeding, until a little boy came up to me in his dusty clothes and bare feet, and with great big eyes and his palms raised towards me asked, "Pencil? Go to school?"</p>
<p>This poor kid, with nothing to call his own, just wanted to go to school. And I, who by quirk of fate was born into a safe, prosperous society with everything I could ever want, didn't even have a pencil to give him. I suddenly felt that I was a complete prick after all, and felt I should sponsor at least five World Vision children and donate about $10,000 to Amnesty International.</p>
<p>Or maybe the cunning little sod was immediately flogging the pencils to the local gift shop... In Asia, first impressions are rarely correct.</p>
<p>I felt something similar in Vietnam, visiting the Viet Cong tunnels at Cu Chi and looking around Ho Chi Minh City. It's interesting to hear the "other" side of the war. The pamphlets at museums all refer to it as the "American" war -- as though it would never have happened if the yanks weren't there. The "War Remnants Museum" recently changed its name from "The Museum of American War Atrocities". Apparently the Vietnamese government is now mindful of the value of visiting American tourists.</p>
<p>The war's cost in human lives was enormous, of course, and reading the history of the war makes me think that it should never have happened. Certainly the west should never have been involved. Vietnam is now supposed to be a communist country, but around HCMCity you couldn't tell -- it's just as bustling with stalls, shops, and crazy traffic as any other SEAsian city I've seen. Of course I'm seeing HCMCity with the benefit of hindsight, but really, what was the point of the war?</p>
<p>And Samui... On the flight leaving the island I was plotting my return.</p>
<p>Many thanks to everyone who e-mailed me while I was away. It's great to receive messages from home: I don't feel quite so isolated from everyone. And special thanks to those who've said how much they enjoyed reading my e-mails. I just hope that I have inspired you to one day visit this crazy wonderful place that is SEAsia.</p>
<p>See you soon.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 +1100http://localhost:4000/travel/200302/index.html
http://localhost:4000/travel/200302/index.htmlTravelUnited states of america<p>I visited the USA in October 2000. My itinerary included Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Washington, and San Francisco.</p>
<p>I took heaps of photographs (396, to be exact!), and I have added some of my favourites to this page. I have included some of the e-mails that I sent while travelling. I hope that you enjoy reading them.</p>
<h3>Los Angeles</h3>
<p>My first city in the USA.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLosAngeles1.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLosAngeles1.jpg" alt="Universal Studios" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">I went on a tour of <a href="pic_usaLosAngeles1.jpg">Universal Studios</a>, including their back lot. It was pretty interesting; western street back onto New York streets, around the corner from 1940's Parisienne streets.
<p>Didn't see any stars, though.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLosAngeles2.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLosAngeles2.jpg" alt="Alfred Hitchcock's star" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">With <a href="pic_usaLosAngeles2.jpg">Alfred Hitchcock's star</a> on Hollywood Boulevard. Shame that you can't read the name, but trust me...</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLosAngeles3.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLosAngeles3.jpg" alt="Basil Rathbone's star" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaLosAngeles3.jpg">Basil Rathbone</a>'s star on Hollywood Boulevard. What do you mean, "Who's Basil Rathbone?" Shame on you!
<p>Okay, maybe this will <a href="http://www.basilrathbone.net">help you remember</a>.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaDisney1.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaDisney1.jpg" alt="Disneyland Railway Station" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaDisney1.jpg">Disneyland Railway Station</a>, just inside the entrance to the park.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaDisney2.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaDisney2.jpg" alt="Me, a man, and a mouse" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaDisney2.jpg">Me, a man, and a mouse</a>, with Cinderella's castle in the background.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaDisney3.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaDisney3.jpg" alt="Main Street, USA" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaDisney3.jpg">Main Street, USA</a>. Walt Disney's idea of heaven.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaDisney4.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaDisney4.jpg" alt="Cinderella and Fairy Godmother" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaDisney4.jpg">Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother</a>.
<p>I hope these actors and actresses are well paid; they're continually smiling, posing for photos with little kids, and being nicer than nice.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h4>3 October: E-mail from Los Angeles</h4>
<p>This was written a few days after arriving in the USA, after spending a day touring downtown LA, Hollywood, and Universal Studios, and a day in Disneyland:</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td width="100%">Hi,
<p>This is just a quick note to let you know that I arrived safely in the USA. So far I've had no problems -- not even jetlag, though I didn't sleep much on the plane and by the time the first night arrived I was exhausted. On Sunday I went on the Hollywood/Universal Studios tour. That was interesting, and I took photos of Sean Connery's and Clark Gable's footprints in front of Mann's Chinese Theatre, plus my photo next to Alfred Hitchcock's star on Hollywood Boulevard. Saw the "Hollywood" sign from a distance, dimly through the smog. Yesterday I spent all day at Disneyland. I think I covered most of it, but it's hard work to fit it all into one day. Lots of photos.</p>
<p>Now I'm waiting for a shuttle bus to go back to Disneyland. I'll spend the morning there, before I check out of this hotel and leave Anaheim for LA. I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow... LA is very hard to get around without a car, and the public transport strike is still going. They'll probably resolve it just as I leave. Sunday's tour bus went along Wiltshire Drive, Rodeo Drive, and Beverley Hills Drive, so I've already seen most of the places you know from TV. No photos, so I'd like to get back there. It's a long walk, though.</p>
<p>If it's fine I might get to Venice Beach, but that will depend a lot on the transport situation. VB is vaguely equivalent to the St.Kilda area of Melbourne -- very much into the beach culture/beautiful people/see-and-be-seen scene.</p>
<p>LA in general reminds me of Manilla in the Philippines -- except that you can drink the water. It covers a huge area, though probably not as big as Melbourne, and there are four- and six-lane freeways everywhere. It's been hot. Not a dry, burning heat like summer in Melbourne, but a humid, sticky heat even though it's only about 25-30 &deg;C. There aren't as many high-rise buildings as you'd expect in a city this size, because of the earthquakes. Now they're retrofitting some older buildings to make them more earthquake proof. Generally the CBD is pretty unphotogenic. There are lots of palm and gum (!) trees -- they are some of the few types of trees that can tolerate the heat and the smog.</p>
<p>Okay, gotta catch a bus. Next message will probably be from Las Vegas.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h3>Las Vegas</h3>
<p>Las Vegas is built in a desert; in the middle of the desert they've built a paradise. Or, at least, paradise for those that can afford it. Everything I thought I knew about Las Vegas I learned from old movies. But most of the casinos from those days are gone. They've been replaced with the biggest, most luxurious, and most opulent establishments that money can buy.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLasVegas3.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLasVegas3.jpg" alt="New York, New York Hotel" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="pic_usaLasVegas3.jpg">New York, New York Hotel</a>. Yes, this is one building, with a facade of one-third scale New York landmarks.
<p>Note the fireships spraying water at the base of the Statue of Liberty.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLasVegas2.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLasVegas2.jpg" alt="Paris Hotel, Las Vegas" width="60" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaLasVegas2.jpg">The Paris Hotel, Las Vegas</a>. This is a one-half scale version of the real Eiffel Tower. Great view of the strip from the observation deck at the top.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLasVegas1.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLasVegas1.jpg" alt="Las Vegas by night" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">At night on "The Strip" (<a href="pic_usaLasVegas1.jpg">Las Vegas Boulevard</a>). Taken from the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaLasVegas4.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaLasVegas4.jpg" alt="Las Vegas by Night" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Another <a href="pic_usaLasVegas4.jpg">view of The Strip</a> from the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h3>New York</h3>
<p>New York -- Perhaps the world's most famous city, the city that never sleeps.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork1.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork1.jpg" alt="New York from the World Trade Centre" width="60" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork1.jpg">View of Manhattan</a> from the roof of the World Trade Centre.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork2.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork2.jpg" lowsrc="http://www.greghawkes.com/travel/View%20of%20central%20Manhattan" width="160" height="60" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Another <a href="pic_usaNewYork2.jpg">view of central Manhattan</a> from the roof of the World Trade Centre.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork3.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork3.jpg" alt="Bridges" width="160" height="60" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Overlooking the <a href="pic_usaNewYork3.jpg">Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge</a> from the roof of the World Trade Centre.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork4.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork4.jpg" alt="Brooklyn Bridge" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork4.jpg">Brooklyn Bridge</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork5.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork5.jpg" alt="Empire State Building" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Probably the world's most famous skyscraper, the <a href="pic_usaNewYork5.jpg">Empire State Building</a>.
<p>Actually, I preferred the Chrysler Building.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork6.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork6.jpg" alt="View from the Empire State Building" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork6.jpg">View from the observation deck</a> of the Empire State Building.
<p>The Chrysler Building is just to the right of the centre of this picture (you can see the stainless steel spire). Grand Central Terminal is beneath the MetLife Building, just to the left of centre.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork7.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork7.jpg" alt="Manhattan from the Empire State Building" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork7.jpg">Another view from the observation deck</a> of the Empire State Building.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork8.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork8.jpg" alt="Statue of Liberty" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="pic_usaNewYork8.jpg">Statue of Liberty</a>. The queue to the top took two hours, and the view from the crown really isn't worth it.
<p>But it's one of those things that you have to do...</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork9.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork9.jpg" alt="Times Square by night" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork9.jpg">Times Square by night</a>. Apparently the owners of the buildings are required to carry the advertisements, and that's how they make their money. The tenants pay no rent.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork10.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork10.jpg" alt="Flatiron Building" width="60" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork10.jpg">The Flatiron Building</a>. One of New York's landmarks.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaNewYork11.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaNewYork11.jpg" alt="New York lights" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaNewYork11.jpg">Manhattan skyline by night</a>, taken from Brooklyn nearby the Brooklyn Bridge. Photographs really can't do justice to the lights of New York.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h4>9 October: E-mail from New York</h4>
<p>Written from an Internet cafe in New York, just off Times Square:</p>
<div align="center">
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>Okay, I'm writing this at an Internet cafe, just off Times Square in New York. So far everything has been going well -- that is, I haven't missed any flights and all my hotel bookings have been accepted -- and I'm seeing a lot of stuff!</p>
<p>So far I've visited Universal Studios, Disneyland, and downtown Los Angeles. LA is tough to get around without a car, and there was (and still is) a public transport strike. I still don't feel like driving in the US yet. I can't get my head around the idea of driving on the right-hand side of the road. Plus there are a couple of quirks that make life fun for both drivers and pedestrians. Cars can perform a right turn through a red light, which means that I have to remember to look all directions at least twice at intersections. Even when crossing a divided carriageway with one eye on the oncoming traffic I have a feeling I'm going to be bowled over from the other direction. But I've survived.</p>
<p>I also visited Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and had my photo taken against Alfred Hitchcock's star on Hollywood Boulevard. I spent a day at Venice Beach and Santa Monica, but it was overcast so there wasn't much happening. Never mind. By accident I stumbled across a mural that I recognised from the movie "LA Story".</p>
<p>After LA I spent three days in Las Vegas. Okay, it's the gambling and glitter capital of the world. But for a non-gambler the glitter is all that it has to offer. Las Vegas has a <i>lot</i> of glitter to offer. I can't describe just how <i>huge</i> some of these hotels/casinos really are. Some of the regular shows they put on for the benefit of passers-by are amazing!</p>
<p>At LV I saw the "New York, New York" hotel, which has a facade of one-third scale NY landmarks, "Paris, Las Vegas" (one-half scale version of the Eiffel Tower -- great view of the city lights from the top), "Venice, Las Vegas" (canals, including the Grand Piazza), the Belaggio Hotel (too stunning to describe here, needs an e-mail all to itself, with photos), and the MGM Grand (largest hotel in the world, over 5000 rooms).</p>
<p>There are two big shows running right now, at competing hotels but both by Circe de Soleil. Both are expensive (and sold out months in advance), so I saw Rita Rudner performing live at the MGM Grand. I like her style of comedy.</p>
<p>I wanted to send an e-mail from LV, but the only places that had Internet access were the business centres at the larger hotels. They wanted to charge me US$30 per hour, so I decided to give it a miss.</p>
<p>So here I am in New York. The flight in yesterday landed at La Guardia Airport, which meant an approach over Manhattan. I had a superb view of all the sights: Statue of Liberty, World Trade Centre, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, you name it.</p>
<p>Today I figured out how to travel on the subway system, and spent the day visiting various places (mostly by accident!).</p>
<p>Tomorrow I will join a tour for a closer look at some of the landmarks, including a cruise around the island of Manhattan. It should be great.</p>
<p>PS: Please forward this to anyone I've missed.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<h4>12 October: E-mail from New York</h4>
<p>From the same Internet cafe in New York:</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td width="100%">Hello all,
<p>I think I now have my e-mail system under control. I think most people received my last message, so everyone should get this one.</p>
<p>The last two days have been pretty busy, sightseeing-wise. I booked a couple of tours before I left Melbourne; so far I've done three: an uptown tour; a downtown tour; and an evening tour. Uptown covers the upper east side, the upper west side, Harlem, and the Bronx. Downtown includes Soho (for "South of Houston Street", not the area in London), the East Village, Tribeca (for "Triangle Below Canal Street"), and all other areas that will be familiar to anyone who watches US cop shows. And I've left the island of Manhattan only twice...</p>
<p>The first time was last night, on the evening tour. This was great; it was a warm, clear evening, perfect for touring around on the top of an open-top double-decker bus. Some of the city lights are amazing, and I really can't describe them. Enough to say that they look better than on a postcard. We drove across the Manhattan Bridge (the Brooklyn Bridge is closed to commercial traffic, such as our bus) to see the city lights from Brooklyn. Fantastic.</p>
<p>The second time was this afternoon, when I finally made it to the Statue of Liberty. Actually I did this badly; I left it until about noon to get on the ferry, which meant that the lines were already very long. On a weekend it would have been even worse. The guidebook was spot-on (thanks, Graham), but hey, I'm on holiday and I'll sleep in as long as I want!</p>
<p>So it took about two hours to reach the crown of the "Lady of Liberty". Most of this is spent on the ground, or on the stairs inside the pedestal. It only takes about 30 minutes to climb the very narrow winding spiral staircase inside the statue to the crown. The view from the top really isn't worth it, because the statue faces out to sea and the viewports are very small, but it's one of those things that you have to do just to say that you've done it. So I did.</p>
<p>I also went to the roof of the World Trade Centre. Now, <i>there's</i> a spectacular view! I walked along Fifth Avenue and spotted a few famous stores that I can't afford to shop in, including Tiffany's, Macy's, Saks, and so on.</p>
<p>I've decided that baggy pants with the crotch down to the knees and caps on sideways look just as stupid in Times Square as they do in St.Kilda...</p>
<p>People in Manhattan don't cook. Most of the apartments don't have much of a kitchen, so everyone either eats out, or else they buy meals from street vendors. There are three supermarkets on the island, and famous because they're so rare. Cars are discouraged and are insanely expensive to park and insure. Come to think of it, I think I've seen only one service station since I've arrived in New York. Instead everyone takes the subway, which is rough and crowded but efficient and faster than the alternatives.</p>
<p>If you don't cook, you buy meals on the way home from work. There are places all over where you fill a covered foil container with as much food as you want from the buffet, and pay for it by weight.</p>
<p>Which reminds me: prices listed on shop windows <i>don't</i> include tax. Thank god Australia didn't go this way with the GST. I've had a number of dumb conversations along the lines of, "You want the $5.95 lunch? Okay, that'll be $6.38". I hate that.</p>
<p>I haven't bought a meal like this yet. I went into one such place to have a look, and saw a cockroach scurrying over one platter...</p>
<p>Tomorrow is my last full day in New York. I want to have a better look around Central Park. On Saturday I catch a train to Washington. My next e-mail will probably from there.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h3>Washington</h3>
<p>I travelled by train from New York to Washington. That was interesting, too; it was as close as I came to the countryside of the USA.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington6.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington6.jpg" alt="Capitol Building" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="pic_usaWashington6.jpg">Capitol Building</a>. Not only was it larger than I expected, but the murals and decorations inside are amazing!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington4.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington4.jpg" alt="Beneath the dome" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Looking directly upwards from <a href="pic_usaWashington4.jpg">beneath the dome</a> of the Capitol.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington5.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington5.jpg" alt="Inside the Capitol" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Murals on the <a href="pic_usaWashington5.jpg">pillars supporting the dome</a> of the Capitol.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington3.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington3.jpg" alt="White House" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Me!
<p>Oh, and the south lawn of <a href="pic_usaWashington3.jpg">the White House</a>.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington2.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington2.jpg" alt="Lincoln Memorial" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="pic_usaWashington2.jpg">Lincoln Memorial</a>, seen from the reflecting pool.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington1.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington1.jpg" alt="Washington Monument" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Looking toward the <a href="pic_usaWashington1.jpg">Washington Monument</a>, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
<p>The Capitol Building is beyond the Monument, lost in the haze.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaWashington7.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaWashington7.jpg" alt="Lunar Landing module" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Replica of the <a href="pic_usaWashington7.jpg">lunar landing module</a> at the Smithsonian Air &amp; Space Museum.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h4>17 October: E-mail from Washington</h4>
<p>From an Internet kiosk in Washington:</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td width="100%">Hello all,
<p>I arrived safely in Washington, after a train ride from New York. As usual, I've been seeing the sights. Yesterday I went on a two-hour tour around the city (Australia's embassy is a very impressive building, that apparently was once home to General George Patton), and Arlington Cemetery, where I saw JFK's and Jacqueline Bouviere Kennedy Onassis's graves, the Iwa Jima memorial (statue of a bunch of guys planting a US flag, it's larger than you think) and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier -- quite moving.</p>
<p>Yesterday was spent mostly at the Smithsonian's Air and Space museum, looking at the original Apollo 11 lunar command module (the bit that splashed back to earth after the moon landing), the Bell X-1 (first aircraft to break the sound barrier), and the Wright brothers' original flyer. The museum is a pretty amazing place: all these are the original aircraft, suspended from the ceiling like model aeroplanes in a kid's bedroom! Where they're not original (like the Voyager probe that's now beyond the orbit of Pluto) they are duplicates created either for training or as backups for the originals.</p>
<p>I spent the day at the Museum because, as luck would have it, I've arrived in time for the "Million Family March". This is the five-year anniversary of the "Million Man March" (which was for black men) except that it now includes every known minority or special interest group. The Air &amp; Space Museum is the most-visited such museum in the world, but I thought it might be a bit quieter inside while the march was happening outside.</p>
<p>I did hear part of a speech by (Reverend?) Louis Farrakhan, who is apparently big in the black-power movement and was responsible for the original MMM. While I was listening he said that 1) Jesus pain on the cross was a holy sacrifice for all mankind, 2) a woman's pain in childbirth is equivalent to Jesus' pain, and therefore 3) motherhood is a holy thing. This went down extremely well with the crowd, but I can only conclude that either 1) Farrakhan is wooing female supporters, or 2) needs to get out more often.</p>
<p>Then I had a quick look around the Capitol building: it's a <i>lot</i> bigger in reality than it looks on television. The interior of the dome is decorated with the most amazing murals and frescos on the ceiling.</p>
<p>Today I had a tour of the Pentagon, which was pretty boring and I didn't even take photographs. The tour guide (the cutest, tallest, blonde seaman I've ever seen) led us along various identical-looking corridors, to show us portraits of various identical-looking soldiers, sailors, marines, and air-force types in high-ranking uniforms. It seems that all of the tours of every site in Washington require that you put your bags through an X-ray machine and walk through a metal detector, and at the Pentagon we all had to wear a temporary ID as well. The ID said that we must be accompanied at all times, shoot on sight if loose in the building, etc., etc.</p>
<p>By the way, the seaman was female.</p>
<p>I wanted a tour of the White House, but you had to be in line by noon and I arrived 30 minutes too late. Never mind: I had my photo taken in front of the WH's south lawn (the view everyone knows).</p>
<p>Also walked around the Washington Memorial (the tall spire), but the queue was too long for me to bother going to the top. Finished the day at the Lincoln Memorial (big statue of Abe), the Vietnam and Korean Memorials, and saw where Forest Gump made his speech at the Reflecting Pool.</p>
<p>As usual, it takes me a day to get my bearings and figure out the city's public transport system before I really start to get around -- which means that I only just get used to something, and it's time to leave. Travelling like this is hard work!</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h3>San Francisco</h3>
<p>San Francisco was my last city in the USA.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran2.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran2.jpg" alt="San Francisco houses" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Row of typical <a href="pic_usaSanFran2.jpg">San Francisco houses</a>. Most of the houses are like this: two or three stories high, garage space underneath, narrow frontage; and built on a hill!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran4.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran4.jpg" alt="Golden Gate bridge" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="pic_usaSanFran4.jpg">Golden Gate Bridge</a>, unfortunately during a heavy fog. The fog was pouring over the crest, and rolling down into the bay under the bridge. Everywhere else the sky was clear!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran3.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran3.jpg" alt="Cable Car" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaSanFran3.jpg">San Francisco cable car</a>, one of the best ways to get around the city. Good fun, too.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran1.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran1.jpg" alt="Museum and winding room" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The cable car <a href="pic_usaSanFran1.jpg">museum and winding room</a>.
<p>There are four cable loops around the city; each cable is up to 15 kilometres long and weighs over 30 tonnes! These machines drive the cables at a steady 15 km/h. Cars clamp on to the cable to move.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran8.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran8.jpg" alt="Alcatraz dock" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">My first view of Alcatraz, from the ferry <a href="pic_usaSanFran8.jpg">approaching the dock</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran5.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran5.jpg" alt="Alcatraz cell block" width="160" height="110" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">The <a href="pic_usaSanFran5.jpg">cell block at Alcatraz</a>, seen from the exercise yard.
<p>In its day, this was the largest reinforced concrete building ever built.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran6.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran6.jpg" alt="Cell at Alcatraz" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">A <a href="pic_usaSanFran6.jpg">cell at Alcatraz</a>. This one had luxuries: painting materials. One way to pass the time.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran9.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran9.jpg" alt="Inside the cell block" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><a href="pic_usaSanFran9.jpg">Inside the cell block</a> on Alcatraz.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center"><a href="pic_usaSanFran7.jpg"><img border="0" src="thb_usaSanFran7.jpg" alt="Inside the cell block" width="110" height="160" /></a></td>
<td valign="top" align="left">Another <a href="pic_usaSanFran7.jpg">view inside the cell block</a> at Alcatraz.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h4>20 October: E-mail from San Fransisco</h4>
<p>From the hotel in San Francisco:</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="1" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" bgcolor="#DEE7DE">
<tr>
<td width="100%">Hello all,
<p>This will probably be my last e-mail from the USA. Fortunately the lobby of the Hotel has a free (!) Internet service. It's very slow and uses a weird browser, but it's free so I can't complain.</p>
<p>I spent yesterday on a tour around the city of San Francisco, with most of the day on Alcatraz island. This was one of the most forbidding places I have ever seen. It is now part of a national park so everything is protected. Still, it has been slowly falling apart for 30 years, so it is even more grim-looking now than when it was a functioning prison. Also there was a heavy fog for most of the day (which meant that I didn't get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge), so the island's foghorns were sounding all day. This just added another dimension to the bleak desolation of the place. Even so, it was very interesting, and it must have been a hellish place to be imprisoned.</p>
<p>The tour finished at Pier 39 adjacent to Fisherman's Wharf. I caught a cable car back to the hotel, standing on the running board and hanging on to an upright. Actually, it's a pretty cool way to get around!</p>
<p>See you in Australia.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
Sun, 01 Oct 2000 00:00:00 +1100http://localhost:4000/travel/200010/index.html
http://localhost:4000/travel/200010/index.htmlTravelBangkok<h2><font face="Arial">Thailand, February 1998</font></h2>
<p>After being sent to Thailand about ten years ago for work, I finally returned to this fascinating country for a holiday.&nbsp; I had three weeks in which to see and enjoy as much of Thailand as I could.&nbsp; Of course, there is no way I could see all that this country has to offer -- but I did my best!</p>
<h3><font face="Arial">Bangkok</font></h3>
<p>One of the world's most amazing cities. Huge, noisome, swarming with people, lots of tourists, fearsome traffic, ancient history, and bursting with sheer, enthusiastic, <em>life</em>.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlBuddha.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlBuddha.jpg" alt="Reclining Buddha" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlBuddha.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (61 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">The face of the <a href="pic_thlBuddha.jpg">reclining Buddha</a> at Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon) in Bangkok. Buddha is always shown with a slightly inscrutable smile, as though he knows something you don't.
<p>Maybe he does. He's the Buddha, after all.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlDemons.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlDemons.jpg" alt="Demons" border="0" width="111" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlDemons.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (70 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlDemons.jpg">Demon figures</a> on the walls of Wat Phra Kaew (Wat Phra Si Ratana Satsadaram), home of the Emerald Buddha.
<p>Apparently these creatures support the earth.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlPakKlong.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlPakKlong.jpg" alt="Pak Klong Flowers" border="0" width="159" height="109" /></a><a href="pic_thlPakKlong.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (67 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlPakKlong.jpg">Bundles of flowers</a> at the Pak Klong flower market in Bangkok.
<p>I had trouble explaining to the taxi driver that I wanted "Pak Klong" (the flower market), not "Pat Phong" (the world's most famous red-light district).</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlChillies.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlChillies.jpg" alt="Pak Klong Chillies" border="0" width="109" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlChillies.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (56 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlChillies.jpg">Baskets of chillies</a> at Pak Klong in Bangkok.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlKhaosan.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlKhaosan.jpg" alt="Khao San Road" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlKhaosan.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (56 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlKhaosan.jpg">Khao San Road</a>, in the Banglampu district of Bangkok. This is the main backpacker area of Bangkok, and the street is filled with hostels, bars, shops, and street stalls.
<p>You can have anything you like tattooed, braided, beaded, and pierced here.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h3><font face="Arial">Trekking in Northern Thailand</font></h3>
<p>When I arrived in Thailand I joined an organised trek, conducted by <a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/" target="_top">Intrepid Travel</a>. Their <a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trip.php?region=Thailand&amp;code=TSO">Taste of Adventure</a> trek is only eight days, but packs in a lot of experiences! Because I had limited time this was a great way to quickly get into holiday mode.</p>
<p>Hello to Bruce and Diane, Hiro, Janice, Lili, Marilyn and Michael, Nick, Nicola, Tammy, and Yves.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlBuppharam.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlBuppharam.jpg" alt="Wat Buppharam" border="0" width="111" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlBuppharam.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (53 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">We travelled by overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This is <a href="pic_thlBuppharam.jpg">Wat Buppharam</a> (Wat Meng), a fairytale, "wedding cake" temple not far from our hostel.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlFields.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlFields.jpg" alt="Rice paddies" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlFields.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (67 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlFields.jpg">Rice paddies</a> outside the homestay village, as we hiked out on the morning of the first day.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlWeave.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlWeave.jpg" alt="Weaving" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlWeave.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (54 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlWeave.jpg">Karen village people</a> weaving as we passed through their village on the first day of the trek.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlHike.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlHike.jpg" alt="Myself, trekking in northern Thailand" border="0" width="159" height="109" /></a><a href="pic_thlHike.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (61 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlHike.jpg">Myself, trekking</a> through the hills of northern Thailand.
<p>Look Mum, it's really me!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlSunrise.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlSunrise.jpg" alt="Sunrise over Karen village" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_thlSunrise.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (36 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlSunrise.jpg">Sunrise over the hill tribe village</a> where we slept on the first night of the trek. The air was as fresh, clean, and crisp as any I've known.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlFather.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlFather.jpg" alt="Father and Family" border="0" width="111" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlFather.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (79 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlFather.jpg">Northern village tribesman</a> and his sons. This man asked me to take a picture of himself and his family. I have returned the print to the tour company, and asked them to forward it to him. I hope he received it...
<p>One of my favourite photographs.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlVillage.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlVillage.jpg" alt="Hilltribe Village" border="0" width="111" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlVillage.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (68 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlVillage.jpg">Huts on the hillside</a> of the village where we slept on the first night of the trek.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlTorrent.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlTorrent.jpg" alt="River torrent" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlTorrent.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (51 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">On the second day of the trek we spent hours <a href="pic_thlTorrent.jpg">wading up this river</a>. Sometimes we clambered from rock to rock, others we were up to our thighs in rushing water. Not for the faint-hearted.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlStupa.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlStupa.jpg" alt="Stupa" border="0" width="111" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlStupa.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (46 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">After returning from the trek we had a day to relax. We had an excellent group Thai massage (the very best way to recuperate), then saw some of the sights of Chiang Mai.
<p>This <a href="pic_thlStupa.jpg">stupa is at Wat Doi Suthep</a>, the temple in the hills overlooking Chiang Mai.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlDoor.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlDoor.jpg" alt="Wat Doi Suthep" border="0" width="111" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_thlDoor.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (69 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlDoor.jpg">Elaborately decorated doors</a> at Wat Doi Suthep.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<h3><font face="Arial">Koh Samui</font></h3>
<p>After the trek I travelled to the resort island of <a href="http://samui.sawadee.com/" target="_top">Koh Samui</a> in the Gulf of Thailand. I stayed in a bungalow at <a href="http://www.sawadee.com/samui/montien/details/" target="_top">Montien House</a> on Chaweng Beach, near the shops, cafes, and bars of the shopping area.</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlMontien.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlMontien.jpg" alt="Montien House Bungalow" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_thlMontien.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (78 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">View from the porch in <a href="pic_thlMontien.jpg">front of my bungalow</a> at Montien House.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlBeach.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlBeach.jpg" alt="Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlBeach.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (42 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_thlBeach.jpg">Chaweng Beach</a>, Koh Samui. This photo was taken early in the morning, before the day's crowds start to fill the beach.
<p>Just your average tropical island paradise...</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_thlMoonlight.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_thlMoonlight.jpg" alt="Chaweng Beach by Moonlight" border="0" width="159" height="111" /></a><a href="pic_thlMoonlight.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (56 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">In the evenings all the resorts and restaurants set up <a href="pic_thlMoonlight.jpg">chairs and tables on the beach</a>. It's great to eat under the stars, while listening to the gentle rush of the surf.
<p>It's also a good time to decide which party you're going to that night.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>In fact there's nothing much to see on Koh Samui. Fortunately you're so busy sunbaking all day and partying all night that it's not a problem! About the only tourist attraction is the Big Buddha, but I haven't included any photographs here.</p>
<p>One event not shown here is the "Full Moon Party" on the island of Koh Pha Ngan. This monthly event is rated as one of the top ten parties in the world! No photos, sorry. Enough to say that I had a <i>very</i> good time! Anyone who wants more information <a href="mailto:website@greghawkes.com">please contact me</a>.</p>
Sun, 01 Feb 1998 00:00:00 +1100http://localhost:4000/travel/199802/index.html
http://localhost:4000/travel/199802/index.htmlTravelLondon<p>London -- the most incredible city I have ever seen, and, of course, one of the oldest and most historic cities in the world.</p>
<p>I was lucky enough to be sent to London by BP (British Petroleum Ltd.) to attend a meeting. I couldn't travel so far just for one meeting, so while I was there I took a few days' holiday. I had three days to explore this city. An impossible task? You decide.</p>
<p>I took a lot more photographs that I haven't included here. These are some of my favourites:</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonBigBen.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonBigBen.jpg" alt="St Stephen's Tower" border="0" width="110" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_lonBigBen.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (28 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_lonBigBen.jpg">St. Stephen's tower</a> -- my first London landmark and home to the world's most famous bell, Big Ben.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonStJames1.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonStJames.jpg" alt="St James' Lake (Looking West)" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonStJames1.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (48 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">My first glimpse of Buckingham Palace. Looking west from the <a href="pic_lonStJames1.jpg">bridge over St. James' lake</a> on a beautiful sunny autumn day, this is my favourite view of London.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonStJames2.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonStJames2.jpg" alt="St James' Lake (Looking East)" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonStJames2.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (34 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">Looking <a href="pic_lonStJames2.jpg">east from the same bridge</a>, toward Duck Island and the Admiralty building. My second favourite view of London.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonTourist.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonTourist.jpg" alt="A Tourist" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonTourist.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (41 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_lonTourist.jpg">Buckingham Palace</a>, my second London landmark. Myself and several hundred tourists.
<p>Look Mum, it's really me!</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonVictoria.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonVictoria.jpg" alt="Queen Victoria Memorial" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonVictoria.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (32 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">The <a href="pic_lonVictoria.jpg">Queen Victoria Memorial</a> in front of the palace.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonFlats.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonFlats.jpg" alt="London Flats" border="0" width="110" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_lonFlats.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (56 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">Flats in <a href="pic_lonFlats.jpg">Thirleby Street, Westminster</a>.
<p>London seems to be made up almost entirely of low-rise sprawl. Apparently Prince Charles wouldn't have it any other way.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonStPancras.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonStPancras.jpg" alt="St Pancras Railway Station" border="0" width="159" height="109" /></a><a href="pic_lonStPancras.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (52 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_lonStPancras.jpg">St. Pancras railway station</a>. "We want a railway station", they said. "We need a Victorian Gothic fantasy", heard the architect.
<p>What is it about this city that inspires such designs as this?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonTowerBridge.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonTowerBridge.jpg" alt="Tower Bridge" border="0" width="110" height="159" /></a><a href="pic_lonTowerBridge.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (42 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_lonTowerBridge.jpg">Tower Bridge</a>. I went for a quick look on the way to the Tower of London, and stayed for four hours. I only left because I was on a tight schedule. In 1894 this was cutting-edge technology, and even today it's a superb piece of engineering.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonHarrods.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonHarrods.jpg" alt="Harrods" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonHarrods.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (56 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="pic_lonHarrods.jpg">Harrods of Knightsbridge</a>. By appointment.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonGuard.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonGuards.jpg" alt="Changing the Guard" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonGuard.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (55 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">I wanted to see the <a href="pic_lonGuard.jpg">changing of the guard</a> at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately it was cancelled, to the dismay of about 500 spectators.
<p>While I was there, though, a convoy of cars approached the palace down The Mall, complete with police escort...</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonQueen.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonQueen.jpg" alt="A Queen" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonQueen.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (40 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">...I don't believe it! <a href="pic_lonQueen.jpg">Queen Elizabeth II</a>, waving at me (at least, I think it was me). Some of my friends lived in London for months, <em>years</em>, without seeing the Queen.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonParliament.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonParliament.jpg" alt="Victoria Tower" border="0" width="159" height="110" /></a><a href="pic_lonParliament.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (66 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">Detail of <a href="pic_lonParliament.jpg">Victoria Tower</a>, Houses of Parliament.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><font size="1"><a href="pic_lonUnderground.jpg" target="_top"><img src="thb_lonUnderground.jpg" alt="The Underground" border="0" width="159" height="109" /></a><a href="pic_lonUnderground.jpg"><br />
Full-size picture (61 kB)</a></font></td>
<td valign="top">The map of <a href="pic_lonUnderground.jpg">London's Underground railway</a> is clear, concise, easy to use, instantly recognisable, and a example of classic design.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p>I visited many more of London's famous buildings, including Kensington Science Museum, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, Paddington Station, King's Cross Station, Victoria Station, spent hours on the Underground, 221b Baker Street (where Sherlock Holmes lived), Regent Street, Oxford Street, Saville Row, Hyde Park Corner, saw buskers in Leicester Square, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, and watched the sun set while sitting by the Thames.</p>
Sat, 01 Nov 1997 00:00:00 +1100http://localhost:4000/travel/199711/index.html
http://localhost:4000/travel/199711/index.htmlTravel